NH firefighters spend day battling series of brush fires

By PAUL FEELYNew Hampshire Union LeaderApril 07. 2013 8:14PMSunday was classified as a "Class 3' fire danger day across the state in areas without snow cover, and the warning proved prophetic.

Fire officials responded to a barn fire in Stratham shortly after 2:30 a.m. that extended to the grass and wooded areas near neighboring homes at 40 Stratham Heights Road. The building was torn down using an excavator, and two nearby homes were evacuated until the fire was knocked down. The cause of the two-alarm blaze is under investigation.

At 12:55 p.m., Hudson firefighters responded to a large fire at 17 Breakneck Road, that extended to a structure on the property. The fire went to two alarms before it was knocked down just before 3 p.m.

Departments providing assistance were Nashua, Salem, Windham, Litchfield, Tyngsborough, Mass., Derry for a tanker, the Salvation Army (aiding firefighters at the scene), and Hudson police.

One mutual aid firefighter was treated at the scene for an abrasion.

Hudson Fire Chief Shawn Murray lives in the area. He said he noticed smoke near his home and drove to the scene to find not only an acre of brush burning, but a 2,000-square-foot log cabin home on fire.

Murray said while the cause remains undetermined, preliminary investigation shows a likely cause being an ember from the home's recently stoked furnace coming out of the chimney and hitting the ground, starting the brush fire and then igniting the cabin's exterior.

The home was deemed uninhabitable Sunday night.

In Tilton, firefighters made quick work of a brush fire at 14 Prospect St. at 2:48 p.m., reporting the fire was knocked down by 2:55 p.m. No injuries were reported.

Firefighters in Alstead and Newton were busy battling two-alarm fires in each community.

In Alstead, a brush fire covered five acres near Anderson Road at 3:32 p.m. before it was brought under control. No injuries or structural damage was reported Sunday night.

In Newton, a large area of grass and brush was burning near 58 Heath St. at 3:49 p.m. No one was injured.